The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures: Simple Rules to Unleash A Culture of Innovation Read Online Free PDF

in expressing their ideas without constraints.
The Open Discussion has no control of content and no structure to include everybody.
Liberating Structures make it possible to include everybody regardless of group size and distribute the control of content among all participants.
    Figure 2-4
    Liberating Structures and Conventional Microstructures Differences in Control and Structure
    “The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change, until we notice that failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds.” Ronald Laing
    Conventional microstructures perpetuate long-running traditions. They are huge time wasters. In many organizations, people, and leaders in particular, spend an enormous amount of time passively listening to PowerPoint presentations. This was unavoidable decades ago but not anymore. Current communication technologies make it possible to share information very effectively without people having to be in the same physical space. This frees up face-to-face time to be used for truly interactive activities designed to generate new ideas or solve problems. To take advantage of this opportunity, a different kind of microstructure is needed that can fully engage participants. Liberating Structures are designed precisely for that purpose.

Chapter 3
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    Liberating Structures For Everyone
    How easy it is for anyone to radically improve the way people work together
    “To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Nelson Mandela
    Liberating Structures are adaptable microstructures that make it quick and simple for groups of people of any size to radically improve how they interact and work together. 1 In contrast to the Big Five, Liberating Structures are specifically designed to include, engage, and unleash everyone in contributing ideas and shaping their future. They can be used to complement the Big Five approaches that people use all the time—or simply replace them.
    Instead of oscillating between too much control (Presentation), too little control (Open Discussion), and too centralized control (Managed Discussion), Liberating Structures distribute the control of content among all the participants so that they can shape direction together as the action unfolds. This liberates energy, unleashes participants’ contributions, stimulates creativity, and reveals the group’s latent intelligence. Liberating Structures are designed to transform the way people collaborate, how they learn, and how they discover solutions together. They support and spark creative adaptability. A description of a basic Liberating Structure called 1-2-4-All shows how these features work in practice.
    A Liberating Structure in Action
    We know that the group is smarter than any single individual. The challenges are: How to tap into a group’s collective intelligence and creativity when discussing an issue? How to prevent a conversation dominated by a couple of people? How to avoid a discussion that goes on, and on, and on?
    1-2-4-All is so simple that it can be used anytime, anywhere, by anyone
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    1-2-4-All is one of the most effective methods for overcoming those challenges. It is so simple that it can be used anytime, anywhere, by anyone. Learning to use 1-2-4-All makes it easy to work your way into some of the other Liberating Structures detailed in Part Four: The Field Guide to Liberating Structures .
    The invitation : Reflect and share what questions, comments, or suggestions you have in response to a presentation or question.
How space is arranged and what materials are used: Participants must be able to be face-to-face in groups of two and then in groups of four. Small tables with four chairs are easiest but not indispensable—people may sit or stand. Microphones may be needed for groups of four to share with the whole group if it is large.
How